How Many is 100?

Have a kiddo curious about 100? Try this fun 100 counting activity!

“Mom! How much is 100? Like how muuuuuuuuuch is it?”

My preschooler has been a known counting-addict since day 1. Well more like day “whenever it was that he figured out counting and value went hand in hand”. That was when he started obsessing over how many something is.

Counting is an important part of number sense but did you know value and quantity are just as important? It’s one thing to be able to count to 100. It’s another thing to understand how much 100 is.

So we went on a 100 counting activity quest

I didn’t want my son sitting there trying to count out 100 of something. The odds of him losing track or losing count were too great.

But we did have a goal: see 100 of something.

I ran to get the stickers.

I made a funny little grid for my son – 10 boxes to be exact. This would make getting to 100 a little easier.

Not a bad little supply list – you know me. I like to keep supply lists light.

I rolled out some Kraft paper and made 10 boxes on it.

Then I explained the 100 counting activity to my son….

“We are going to count out 100 stickers BUT…

…we are going to do it in groups of 10.” I basically had to give him the old “just trust me” on this one. Counting to 10 a bunch of times would help us get to 100…. I promies! Off he went putting 10 stickers in each box.

Stop right there.

This part of the activity had huge value for him. Counting out 10 each time meant: working on his rote counting, working on his fine motor skills, and working on seeing 10 in different arrangements. Even though he could count to 10 in his sleep, this still had massive value!

The fun started once he filled up the boxes

Once each box was full of 10 stickers, it was counting time. We worked together to touch and count each sticker… all the way to 100!

It’s a quick and easy way to help your child visualize exactly how many 100 is.

If your child can’t count to 100 yet…

No problem! If they can count to 10, this is an activity for them. All it means is that when it’s time to count from 1 to 100, you will need to do the bulk of the counting work.

That’s still great!

Kids need to hear adults counting to 100 so they can start to pick up the number names and counting patterns. This activity provides a great chance to see, hear, and touch 100 objects.

What an accomplishment to make it to 100 but I will tell you… the second we finished the activity: “Hey mom! What does 200 look like?!”